Sig 290 issues

[GPD177]

Just took one of our guys through the range that had a new Sig 290 that he was going to use as a back up gun. He was shooting Winchester White box 115 grain 9mm. In one box of 50 he had 4 failures to eject a spent round and 4 failures to fire. The failures to fire did not even look like the primer had been touched. I fired a couple of mags through it and immediately ruled it out for me as it caused slide bite and the grip was much too small for me to feel secure with it. It felt like it wanted to jump out of my hand and was even worse when I modified my grip to deal with slide bite.

On the plus side it did seem plenty accurate, and would conceal very well.

With the reliability issues, I think he is going to take it back. The 290 was on my short list, but after seeing that, I have dropped it from consideration.
YMMV

 

[Walt_Jabsco]

I was really enthused about the 290 when they originally announced it but frankly. it's a piece of crap. Even from a basic ergonomics perspective it's miserably uncomfortable, the trigger is terrible, it feels incredibly awkward. It's a pretty serious disappointment.

 

[jamstutz]

I tried a friend's P290 because I was looking for a compact 9 mm to carry. His was so unreliable [failures to fire and failures to eject] that I would never trust it. I considered a Kimber Solo, but the price was just too high to justify it. Instead I got a Ruger LC9 and couldn't be more pleased. I have had no failures with it and it is much more comfortable to shoot. It is very similar to the Kel-Tec PF9, but I could never get my finger in and out of the trigger guard of the PF9 without the trigger being in the way. The LC9 has plenty of room for the trigger finger, even while wearing gloves.

I would have prefered that Ruger leave well enough alone and not include the loaded chamber indicator and the frame mounted safety lever, but they are not an operational problem--I just ignore them.

 

[Dave Doehrman]

Just took one of our guys through the range that had a new Sig 290 that he was going to use as a back up gun. He was shooting Winchester White box 115 grain 9mm. In one box of 50 he had 4 failures to eject a spent round and 4 failures to fire. The failures to fire did not even look like the primer had been touched. I fired a couple of mags through it and immediately ruled it out for me as it caused slide bite and the grip was much too small for me to feel secure with it. It felt like it wanted to jump out of my hand and was even worse when I modified my grip to deal with slide bite.YMMV

I went through this same issue with my P290 and had to send it back to Sig twice. They denied there was any problems even though there were pages of hits on Google for "P290 light primer strikes". They told me it was my grip and insinuated that I didn't have a problem. I finally tested about 6 different brands of ammo and narrowed it down to failures to fire with specific ammo. I found that Remington green box FMJ will fire 100% of the time for practice ammo and Winchester PDX1 147gr Personal Protection ammo fire 100% of the time for carry ammo.

There's no excuse for Sig's refusal to admit there is an issue or try to make it right. The P290 is extremely accurate,carries concealed very well and for me, is totally fun to shoot. The trigger smooths out and becomes quite predictable after 500 - 750 rounds.

I do carry this as a backup in a pocket holster in my right hip pocket.

If you're interested, here's the link to mu original posts on the P290: https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/handguns/151499-soured_on_sigs.html

 

[mike63502]

Such a shame. I love my P226. However the value of a company is in how they stand behind their products. Thanks for the info.

 

[will56]

first time i took my p290 to the range i had multiple light hammer strikes. i called sig. they emailed me a postage paid UPS label. they returned it to me with paperwork saying they had replaced the "trigger group". i havent had a single problem in the 300+ rounds since then.